title: Preoperative assessment of nonfunctioning pancreatic endocrine tumours: role of MDCT and MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was done to compare the diagnostic accuracy of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the preoperative assessment of nonfunctioning pancreatic endocrine tumours (NFPET).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one patients (25 men, 26 women; mean age, 52 years), preoperatively investigated by both MDCT and MRI and subsequently operated on with a histological diagnosis of NFPET, were included in this study. MDCT and MRI accuracy in evaluating location, size, margins, baseline density/signal intensity, structure, pattern of enhancement, peak enhancement phase, involvement of main pancreatic duct, involvement of adjacent organs, infiltration of peritumoural vessels, involvement of locoregional lymph nodes, and liver metastases was compared using Pearson correlation, Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests. A value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MDCT and MRI had similar accuracy in assessing size, margins, baseline density/signal intensity, structure, pattern of enhancement, peak enhancement phase, involvement of main pancreatic duct, involvement of adjacent organs, involvement of locoregional lymph nodes, and liver metastases (p>0.05). MDCT was superior to MRI in evaluating the infiltration of peritumoural vessels (p=0.025).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MDCT performed better than MRI in assessing vascular involvement and should be considered the best imaging tool for preoperative evaluation of NFPET.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Radiologia, Ospedale Sacrocuore Don Calabria, Via don A. Sempreboni 5, 37024, Negrar, Italy, gfoti81@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Foti
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boninsegna
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Falconi
authors.forename: Roberto Pozzi
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mucelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007472:Iohexol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D007472:Iohexol; C038192:iopromide